Your Email Address Matters – 3 Important Email Issues

I get a ton of email, on a daily basis. So much so, that I make a very quick decision about whether I am going to do something “now”, “later” or “never” (hat-tip to Ellen Williams for this trifecta of email action). I’m willing to bet that you, too, get tons of email. And, you are making the same quick decisions about what to do with it.

But, what drives those decisions?

It is actually several things that cause someone to decide what action to take on an email they’ve received. Most people look at the subject line, the email address it is coming from and what company it is from.

The subject line

One of the most important aspects of any email message is the subject line. Very often, it is only the first 5-6 words of the subject line that we even see, since over 68% of us view our email on our mobile devices.

In addition, we as people, are always looking to see what the email will do for us. How will it make my life better/easier? If you want people to open your email, you need to tell us, quickly, how your email will benefit us.

Sender E-Mail Address

All too often, I go through my email Spam folder to see business there, specifically because they were sent from an address that ends in @aol.com, @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, etc. These are not email addresses meant for business. In fact, at a recent presentation I was conducting, an attendee told the audience that all email from @aol immediately gets deleted, no matter who it is.

In addition, as a Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert and Certified Solutions Provider, we have been told that email from these providers will be recorded as a bounce, based upon changes they have made (See the Constant Contact blog for more information)

Company Name

Finally, as an email recipient, we check to see what company the email is from (@socialribbit.com, for example). Are you a company we do business with? Did I give you permission to email me? If the answer is yes, I am more likely to open and read (and act on) your email then if I’ve never heard of you or have never done business with you. This is why it is so important to make sure that you are using an email list that people have voluntarily subscribed to, and that you haven’t purchased a list. In fact, the CAN-SPAM (and CASL for our Canadian friends) prohibits you from sending email to people that haven’t “opted in” to your list.

So, when preparing your email, whether it be weekly or monthly, give these three items your full attention, so that you can increase the likelihood of your email getting opened, read and acted upon.